Knife sharpening mechanism for rotary slicing machine knives



Aprll 7, 1953 C, KLINGENS 2,633,683

. KNIFE SHARPENING MECHANISM FOR ROTARY SLICING MACHINE KNIVES Filed Sept. 25, 1950 2 SHEETS--SHEET l F|G.3 i 2s I4 gli 30 LLM INVENTOR.- CO NEL! KLINGENS April 7, 1953 Q KLINGENS 2,633,683

KNIFE SHARPENING MECHANISM FOR ROTARY SLICING MACHINE KNIVES Filed Sept. 25, 1950 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 7e 7e "r2/\so/ 14 FIG? M26/|24 INVENTOR.'

38 CORNELIS KLINGENS ATT'YS Patented Apr. 7, 1953 UNITED STATES GFFICE KNIFE SHARPENING MECHANISM FOR ROTARY SLICING MACHINE KNIVES Application September 25, 1950, Serial No. 186,647

The improved knife sharpening mechanism comprising the present invention is applicable to slicing machines of the general type shown and described in a copending application ofCcrnelis Klingens, the present applicant, Serial No. 186,646, led September 25', 1950. The mechanism however may, with or Without modification, be adapted for use in connection with a large variety of slicing machines of the type having circular rotary knife blades.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a knife sharpening mechanism, all the operative parts of which areenclosed and substantially concealed within a Vhousing which occupies a position adjacent one side of the motor and knife box housings of the slicing machine in an out-of-the-way position, wherey it is not conspicuous, and adjacent the peripheral edge of the rotary circular knife proper and which, in this out-of-the-way position, is bodily movable from an inoperative position wherein the sharpening wheels associated with the same are out of register with the cutting edge of the knife to an operative position wherein they are in register with the'cutting edge of. the knife for subsequent manipulation thereof into actual grinding contact with the knife. 1

A,similar and related object ofthe inventiony is'to provide a knife sharpening mechanism of this character which, while maintaining substantially the .same out-of-the-way location relative to the other operative parts .of the slicing machine, may be manually and vbodily moved from its operative to its inoperative position, and vice versa, and automatically locked in either position against dislodgmen't-uponv manual release Y of the mechanism;v v

Another object of the-invention is to provide a sharpening mechanism of this character having a sharpening wheel andaburring wheel` which, when the apparatus asa whole is locatedV in its operative position of register With the edge of the` 'cutting knife' for cutting purposes, has the grinding surfaces of the'respe'ctive Wheels iproperly oriented relative to thesurfaces of the cutting knife to .beground so'that, by 'axial move- 6 Claims. (Cl. 51-248) ment of the grinding wheelsalong their respective axes; of rotation, these surfaces may be brought into grindingengagement with the edge Y such a mechanism which, when positioned for sharpening operations,the grindingwheels there- @italia giairlianed in :a retracted-pennen under the influence 'of a common actuating member,

together with yieldable means normally urging the grinding members toward the cutting knife so that upon release of the grinding wheels by the` actuating member, the yieldable means will serve to impel the grinding members into their respective grinding positions with such yieldable means constituting the sole means for applying grinding pressure to the grinding Wheels.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a grinding apparatus of this character having an actuating member normally serving to maintain the grinding wheels in their retracted positions and capable of being manually actuated to permit the aforesaid yieldable means to move the grinding wheels into grinding position, and also capable of locking at least one of the grinding wheels in an initial grinding position, so that when the action of the yieldable means operating upon the locked grinding wheel has been expended, the yieldable means is ineffective to cause further grinding operation by the locked wheel.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a grinding apparatus in which the common actuating mechanism for both the sharpening and burring wheel normally assumes a retracted position under the influence of a relatively power-u ful spring which is sufficient to maintain the sharpening wheel and the burring Wheel in their respective retracted positions against the action oi the yieldable means tending to move them toward their operative position, and which is also movable to an intermediate position wherein the i yieldable means operating upon the-grinding and burring wheels, respectively, is applied directly to cessive grinding of the cutting knife.

Another object of the invention in an apparatus Vof this character is to provide a novel type of adjusting means whereby the axis of rotation Yof the sharpening wheel may be adjusted throughout a slight degree of angularity to attain proper registryof the grinding surface of the grinding wheel'with the edge of the cutting knife.

rThe provision of a knife sharpening mecha- I nism which is relatively simple in its construction, onev which is rugged and durable and which,

therefore, may withstand roughr usage and is unlikely to get out of order, are further desirable features thathave been borne in mind in the production and glei/elopmentvY of thel present invention.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially centrally and longitudinally through a knife sharpening mechanism constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and showing the same applied to the slicing edge of the cutting knife;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the completed structure shown in Fig. 1 with a portion of the cover broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. a is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, somewhat diagrammatic in its representation showing certain applications of force being applied to the sharpening and burring instrumentalities of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 5 6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line f 'l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view `taken along the plane of line 8 8 of Fig. 2.

In all of the above described views similar characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts throughout.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, particularly Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, a portion of a rotary circular knife of the slicing machine is designated at II). The sharpening mechanism comprises grinding elements in the form of rotary wheels I2 and I4 of emery or other abrasive material, these wheels constituting respectively the primary and secondary elements of a sharpening wheel assembly and a burr removing assembly. The sharpening wheel I2 is adapted to perform the primary grinding operation on the bevelled edge of the rotary circular knife .and the burring wheel knife I4 being adapted to remove the burr formed on the opposed edge of the knife during sharpening thereof.

The sharpening mechanism, including the two grinding wheels I2 and I4, involves in its general organization a framework I6 which may be in the form of an integral casting of irregular shape and. which includes a sleeve portion I8 slidably mounted upon a post 20 secured in any suitable manner to the framework of the slicing machine and preferably to the knife box casing 2I thereof. A guard or cover 22 of generally cup-shaped design may be secured by 1means of screws 24 to the framework I5 and is adapted to at least partially enclose the operative grinding instrumentalities of the mechanism. The sharpening mechanism as a whole may be tilted vertically about the axis of the post 2B to enable the burring wheel I4 to clear the upper edge of the slicing machine knife I when the sharpening mechanism is moved from its inoperative to its operative position, all in a manner that will be made clear presently.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the sharpening wheel I2 is secured by fastening means 2S to one end of a rotatable spindle 26 and the latter is journalled in a non-rotatable sleeve 3l) forming part of a casting designated in its entirety at 32. The casting 32 includes a web portion 34 which extends from the sleeve portion 3Q and connects the latter to a second sleeve portion 33, the latter being slidably disposed upon a guide rod 38 extending transversely .across the framework I6 adjacent the medial regions thereof. A coil spring 43 surrounds the guide rod 33 and bears at one end against the side of the framework I6 and at the other end against the sleeve portion 36, thus normally urging the casting 32 toward the left as viewed in Fig. 3 to in turn yieldably urge the sharpening wheel l2 into engagement with the bevelled edge of the slicing knife It. .A portion of the framework casting I6 is relieved to provide an opening 42 (Fig. 3) therethrough through which the sleeve portion S of the sharpening wheel supporting casting 32 extends along an inclined axis as viewed in Fig. 3.

'Ihe burring ywheel I4 is secured by means of fastening means including a clamping screw 50 (Fig. 4) to a rotatable spindle 52 which is mounted by means of sleeve bearings 54 (see also Fig. 4) and an anti-friction thrust bearing 56 in a nonrotatable sleeve portion 58 provided on a casting designated in its entirety at E3. The icasting 60 includes a web portion 62 which serves to connect the sleeve portion 58 with a second sleeve portion 64, the latter sleeve portion being slidably disposed on a guide rod 35 extending across the framework I6 at a point adjacent the outer or free end thereof. A coil spring B8 surrounds the guide rod G and bears at one end against one side of the framework and serves to normally urge the casting et to the left, as viewed in Fig. 4, to cause the burring wheel I4 to yieldingly bear against the side of the slicing knife I0 opposite the bevelled edge thereof for the purpose of removing any burrs created by the sharpening wheel i2 during the sharpening operation. The axis of the sleeve portion 58 of the casting 3i! and the axis of the guide rod 63 lextend substantially perpendicular to the plane of the cutting knife I3 in order that the effective sharpening surface of the burring wheel I4 may lie flush against the face of the sharpening knife IU undergoing grindmg.

The specific mounting for thesharpening wheel spindle 28 within the sleeve portion 3l) of the slidable casting 32 has not been illustrated herein, but it will be understood that the same may be similar to the mounting for the spindle 52 in the sleeve 58 of the burring wheel casting 6!) and consequently may include sleeve bearings and anti-friction roller bearings if desired.

Referring now to Figs. l and 6, the framework or casting I6 is provided with a depending web 'I0 on its underneath side. This web is designed for selective reception in one or the other of a pair of annular grooves 'I2 and 74 formed in a stationary supporting stud 16, one end of which is threadedly received as at 18 in a stationary part of the slicing machine framework, preferably the knife box casing 24. The stud 'I6 and shaft .20 extend in substantialparallelism and it will be seen, therefore, that by manually raising the entire knife sharpening assembly, including the guard or cover` 22, the entire assembly `may be slid longitudinally on the shaft 23, so that the depending web l@ may be locked in either of the grooves 12 or 14. With the web 'I0 locked in the groove 'I4 the two grinding wheels, namely the sharpening wheel I2 and the burring wheel I4, will assume a position on one side (i. e., behind) the plane of the rotary slicing knife. When the web 10 is placed within the groove 12, the

`two grinding knives I2 and ill will straddle the peripheral edge of the slicing knife as shown in Fig. 3, with these grinding wheels assuming their normal dotted line position preparatory to being manually urged toward their operative sharpening positions, as shown in full lines by mechanism subsequently to be described. In so moving the assembly from its inoperative position to its sharpening position, and vice versa, it is ob vious that the same will be tilted about the axis of the shaft 20 to a sufficient elevation to cause the burring wheel I4 to clear the peripheral edge of the knife blade I0. The outer sides of the grooves 12 and 14 are preferably bevelled, as indicated at 80, and the web 10 is provided with a recess 82 which is reduced as at 84 :(Fig. 6) to assist in locating the assembly in either of its two positions of rest.

An adjusting screw 06 (Figs. 2 and 6) is threadedlyreceived in a raised portion or boss 81 pro vided .on the framework I5: and has its extreme. lower end designed for engagement with the studV I6 in orderthat the limiting position of the entire knife sharpening assembly may be adjusted to bring the grinding wheels I2 and I4 into proper adjusted position relative to the peripheryv of the knife blade l0. The adjusting screw 86 is concealed within the boss 81 by means of one of the fastening screws 214 which anchors the cover plate 22 in position on the framework I6.

. As` previously stated, the sharpening wheelV casting 32 and the burring wheelcasting 60 are normally urged by the springs 40 and 68 on the respective shafts 38 and 66 on which they are mounted toward their operative grinding posi-A tions. However, means are provided foryieldingly maintaining these members Yin their retracted positions against the action of their respective springs so that the normal positions Aof these two grinding wheels are, in fact, their re'. tracted positions. Accordingly, a pivot pin 90 is mounted for oscillation about a vertical axis in an upstanding boss 92 provided in the base of the framework I6 and is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 5, by means of a torsion spring 04, one end of which is anchored as at 06 in the framework I6 and the other end of which is anchored as at 98 in a collar |00. The collar |00 is keyed to the pivot pin 90 and is held thereon by means of a fastening screw |02 and washer |04. The spring 94 being normallyvunder ten-V sion, the pivot pin S0 is normally urged inA aV counterclockwise direction. The pivot pin 90 projectsbelow the level of the bottom of the framework I6 and has secured thereto` in any suitable manner, as for example by welding as shown at Y93, an operating lever |06 having aA handle portion |08 and lever portions ||0 and ||2, which extend in opposite directions, respectively, radially from the axis of the pivot pin 90.

The radially extending portion ||2 of the operating lever |66Vis designed for engagement with a lug I4 provided on the sharpening wheel casting 32 while the radially extending portion ||0 `is designed for engagement with a lugv |16 provided on theV burring casting 64 asv clearly shown in'Fig. 5.v In this v view the spring 40 is schematically shown andl the` accompanying arrow represents the application of force to the casting (l2 in a direction tending to movethe.

same to aposition wherein the sharpening wheel IZ'eng'ages the bevelled surface of the knife ||'I. Similarly the spring 68 and accompanying arrow schematically represent the application'of force:v

to the casting k|ill in a direction tending to move the same 'to a position wherein the burring wheel I4 engages the knife I0. The rate of the spring 94 however is greater than the combined rates of the two springs 40 andl 68 and the leveragesY involved `are.suchntl-iatthe Vtorque applied to ;.1j, he`

pivot pin 90 is suicient to normally maintain the castings 32 and 60 .in their retracted positions with the springs 40 and 68 compressed so that the grinding wheels I2 and I4 .remain in their retracted dotted line positions as shown in Fig. 3.

Thus,.with the knife sharpening assembly as a whole in its operative position with the web '|0 in registerin the groove 12, thegrinding wheels l2 and I4 are out of contact with the knife I0.

The handle portion |08 of the actuating lever |06 extends laterally from the operative lever portion I I0 and the extreme end thereof extends beyond the confines of the guard or cover 22 where it is conveniently accessible to the hand of the operator.' When the handle 'portion |08 is released itassumes the dotted line position designated at a in Figs. 2 and 5 with the spring 94 serving to maintain the lever portions ||0 and ||2 against the respective lugs or abutments IIB and IIli respectively so as to maintain the castings and 32 retracted with the grinding wheels i4 and I2 out of contact with the knife.

When the handle portion |08 is moved from its retracted position to its intermediate full line position designated at b in Figs. 2 and 5 due to manipulation'thereof by the operator, the lever portions H0 and |I2 of the lever |06 recede in a clockwise direction as seen in these views and the castings 60 and 32, and consequently the grinding wheels I4 and I2, advance under the infinence of the respective springs 68 and 40 so that the wheels move into operative grinding contact with the surfaces of the slicing knife I0. i Further movement of the handle toward the dotted line final position designated at c leaves the burring wheel i4 in grinding contact with the knife under theinuence of the spring 68 and also leaves the grinding wheel I2 in contact with the knife under the. iniuence of the spring 40. However, by means which will now be described in detail, this further movement of the lever |06 towards its final c position serves to apply a clamping action to the casting 32 to bind the same in fixed position so that the action of the vspring 40 may ultimately be expended as the grinding operation on the bevelled surface of the knife continues until such time as the spring 40 no longer is effective to force lthe grinding wheel I2 against the bev elled surface of the knife.

Accordingly, almost immediately after the handle |08 of the lever |06 is moved from its 'o position toward its final c position, a shoulder |20l provided-on the lever IIS-is brought into binding contact with an edge of the lug H4 on the casting 32 and the latter is firmly and frictionally clamped between the shoulder |20 and the guide rod f8 on which the casting is slidably mounted. The operator may maintain the hanu dle portion |08 in its c position for a few moments until the action of the spring 40 has been expended'inthe Igrinding operation, as determined by an .aural indication evidenced by a lessening of the frictional noise attendant upon the grinding operation,.after.which'the handle portion |03 may be released to permit the grinding wheels to assume their normal inoperative vpositions under the influence of the spring 94 and against the yielding action of the springs 68 and 40.

'When the grinding operation has been completed, the entire sharpening assembly including the guard or cover 22`may `be elevated by tilting the same on'the axis ofthe shaft 20 and the casting ||l slid to its inoperative position with the web '|0. resting in the groove 14.

aesagassf that the guide rod 38 on 'which the sharpening wheel casting \32 is slidably mounted 'has one kend thereof loosely disposed within an opening .|22 in one wall of the casting I6 and an adjusting screw |24 extends through the casting and communicates with the opening |22 at one side thereof and bears against the side of the guide rod 3B for the purpose of eifecting an adjustment of the position of the end of the rod within the opening 22 to vary within small limits the axial inclination of the rod. A; clamping screw |28 likewise extends through the casting and into the opening |22 for clamping the end of the guide rod 38 in any desired adjusted position. In this manner the sharpening wheel I2 may be properly oriented with respect to the cutting edge of the knife it during initial installation of the Ysharpener or readjusted after a period of use. The guide rod 65 for the casting 60 of the burr removing wheel M may be provided with a similar adjusting means E28 as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Changes may be made in the forni, construction and arrangement of parts from those -disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention -or sacricing any of the attendant advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes `fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. in a sharpening mechanism for slicing machines of the rotary knife type, a frame, a movable grinding wheel support on said frame, a grinding wheel mounted on said support and movable bodily therewith, said support being movable in one direction from a retracted position wherein the grinding wheel is out of engagement with the knife to an advanced position wherein the wheel engages the knife for grinding purposes, spring means on said frame normally urging said support toward its advanced position, a lever mounted on said frame for oscillation about a iixed axis and having an end thereof in engagement with said support, said lever being movable from a retracted position wherein said end engages said support and holds the same in its retracted position against the action of said spring means, through an intermediate position wherein said support is moved under the innuence oi' said spring means to its advanced position, to a final position, and a shoulder on said lever intermediate said fixed axis and end for engaging said support during movement of the lever from its intermediate positionto its iinal position and locking the support against further movement in said direction.

2. In a sharpening lmechanism for slicing machines of the rotary knife type, a ira-me, a movable grinding wheel support on said frame, a grinding wheel mounted on said support and movable bodily therewith., said support being movable in one direction from a retracted position wherein the grinding wheel is out of engagement with the knife to an advanced position wherein the wheel engages the knife for grinding purposes, spring means on said frame normally urging said support toward its advanced position, a lever mounted on said frame for oscillation about a fixed axis and having an end thereof in engagement with said support, said lever being movable from a retracted vposition wherein said end engages said support and holds the same in its retracted position against the action of said spring means, through an intermediate position wherein said support is moved under the .influence of said spring means toits advanced position, to a final position, a shoulder on said lever intermediate said fixed axis and end for engaging said support during movement of the lever from its intermediate position to its inal position and locking the support against further movement in said direction, and yielding .means normally maintaining said lever in its retracted position against the action of said spring means.

3. In a sharpening mechanism for rotary slicing machine knives, a frame, a movable sharpening grinding wheel support on said frame, a sharpening grinding wheel mounted on said support and movable bodily therewith, a movable burring grinding wheel support on said frame, .a burring grinding wheel mounted on said latter support and movable bodily therewith, said supports each being movable in one direction from a retracted position wherein the grinding Wheel thereon is out of engagement with the knife to an advanced position wherein the wheel engages the knife for grinding purposes, spring means on said frame normally urging said supports toward their advanced positions, a lever mounted on said frame for oscillation about a fixed vertical axis and engaging said supports on opposite sides of the axis, said lever being movable from a retracted position wherein it engages said supports and holds the same in their retracted positions against the action of said spring means, through an intermediate position wherein said supports are moved under the inuence of said spring means to their advanced positions, to a nal position, and a shoulder formed as an integral part of said lever for engaging said sharpening wheel support during movement of the lever from its intermediate position to its nal position and locking the latter against further movement.

4. In a sharpening mechanism for rotary slicing machine knives, a frame, a movable sharpening grinding wheel support on said frame, a sharpening grinding wheel mounted on said support and movable bodily therewith, a movable burring grinding wheel support on said frame, a burring grinding wheel mounted on said latter support and movable bodily therewith, said supports each being movable in one direction from a retracted position wherein the grinding wheel thereon is out of engagement with the knife to an advanced position wherein the Wheel engages the knife for grinding purposes, spring means on said frame normally urging said supports toward their advanced positions, a lever mounted on said frame for oscillation about a fixed axis and engaging said supports on opposite sides of the axis, said lever being movable from a retracted position wherein it engages said supports and holds thesame in their retracted positions against the action ofsaid spring means, through an intermediate position wherein said supports are moved under the influence of said spring means to their advanced positions, to a iinal position, and a shoulder on said lever intermediate said fixedV axis and its region of engagement with one of bsaid supports for engaging the latter support durmg'movement of the lever from its intermediate position to its final position and locking the latter suiport against further movement.

In a sharpening mechanism fo ing machine knives, a frame, a movarblgtsaldil'iring grinding wheel support on said frame a sharpeninggrinding wheel mounted on said supportl and movable bodily ports each being movable in one direction from a retracted position wherein the grinding wheel thereon is out of engagement with'the knife to an advanced position wherein the wheel engages the knife for grinding purposes, spring means on said frame normally urging said supports toward their advanced positions, a lever mounted ony said frame for oscillation about a fixed vertical axis and engaging said supports on opposite sides of the axis, said lever being movable from a retracted position wherein it engages said supports and holds the same in their retracted positions against the action of said spring means, through `an intermediate position wherein said supports are moved under the inuence of said spring means to their advanced positions, to a nal posltion, means on said lever for engaging said sharpening Wheel support during movement of the lever from its intermediate position to its ilnal position and locking said sharpening wheel support against further movement, and yielding means normally maintaining said lever in its retracted position against the action of said spring means.

6. In a sharpening mechanism for slicing machines of the rotary knife type, a framework having -a pair of parallel side portions, a cylindrical guide rod having one end thereof secured to one of said side portions, there being an opening in the other side portion into which the other end 10 of the guide rod extends, said opening being slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of said latter end of the guide rod, an adjusting screw threadedly received in said latter side portion and having an end projecting into said opening in the direction of a secant line through the opening and designed for engagement with the projecting end of the guide rod, and a clamping screw also threadedly received in said latter side portion and having an end projecting into said opening substantially diametrically thereof for clamping the projecting end of the guide rod in any desired position of adjustment, and a grinding element slidably supported on said guide rod for movement toward and away from the slicing machine knife.

CORNELIS KLINGENS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,331,596 Stukart Feb. 24, 1920 1,753,635 Wood Apr. 8, 1930 1,857,421 Woodington May 10, 1932 1,918,576 Van Duyn July 18, 1933 2,141,055 Van Berkel Dec. 20, 1938 

